Head-to-head comparison
Ad Results Media Insights vs Podtrac
Two of the analytics tools podcasters reach for. Here's how they differ on pricing, features, audience, and the trade-offs that actually matter day-to-day.
Podcast media buyer with proprietary measurement dashboard.
Best for:
Industry-standard audience measurement and monthly rankings since 2005.
Best for: Established publishers
At a glance
The honest trade-offs
Ad Results Media Insights
Pros
- 25+ years of podcast ad agency expertise
- Massive in-house performance dataset
- Strong host-read and DR campaign track record
Watch-outs
- Agency service, not a self-serve tool
- Built for $50K+ media budgets
- Insights are downstream of their client work
Podtrac
Pros
- Sponsor-recognized industry rankings since 2005
- Free measurement plus demographic surveys
- IAB-compliant rankings included automatically
Watch-outs
- Dashboard UX feels visibly outdated
- Light on listener behavior and attribution
- Sponsor-facing tool, not a growth platform
Which one should you pick?
Pick Ad Results Media Insights if
You’re building around . Ad Results Media is a podcast advertising agency, not a tool, and they've been doing it for 25+ years for clients like ZipRecruiter and BetterHelp. Their Q1 2026 podcast advertising benchmarks pulled from over 97,000 campaigns across 30 billion impressions, which is one of the larger datasets out there.
Pick Podtrac if
You’re building around established publishers. Podtrac is the boring, reliable, IAB-certified number that media kits cite when shows brag about rankings. It's been around since 2005 for a reason — sponsors trust it — but the dashboard feels stuck in the same decade and won't tell you anything actionable about why your audience does what it does.
Also worth comparing
Frequently asked
What does Ad Results Media Insights do better than Podtrac?
Ad Results Media Insights's standout is "25+ years of podcast ad agency expertise". Podtrac doesn't make that promise — it leans into "Sponsor-recognized industry rankings since 2005" instead. If the first sentence describes your workflow, pick Ad Results Media Insights; if the second does, pick Podtrac.
What are the trade-offs?
Ad Results Media Insights: agency service, not a self-serve tool. Podtrac: dashboard ux feels visibly outdated. Whether either matters depends entirely on what you actually need — neither is a deal-breaker by itself.
Can I use Ad Results Media Insights and Podtrac together?
Both are analytics tools so most teams pick one. Some workflows do combine them — for example, using Ad Results Media Insights for one show or episode type and Podtrac for another. Worth trying both free tiers before committing.